「彼は長期プロジェクトだ」佐々木朗希への批判は早すぎる？ドジャースファンの本音「昨年の世界一貢献を忘れたのか」「AAAで再調整すべき」議論が白熱

Roki is a long term project. It will pay off

And if it doesn’t he’s making minimum and we won the World Series (with a lot of help from him) in the only season we had him. I really don’t understand how anyone can complain about having Roki, it’s house money.

If anyone is criticizing this kid I would immediately just disregard them.

I like Roki a lot. I think he’s got the skill set to be a major player in MLB in the future.

If any team has the ability to be patient with a young prospect it’s the Dodgers. Like most things these days it’s fake outrage

People are use to instant gratification. He has to be good now or he is trash. People just need to relax.

Roki is 24 and doesn't turn 25 until November. Most MLB starters make their debut at 24-25. And, they've had the benefit of being in MLB farm systems prepping them for life in the bigs. Pitchers don't typically peak until 27-30.

Organization is one of the best at developing young talent and has the infrastructure to support him. Roki doesn't need to be an ace. They literally could give him one start every 10-games while he works out his quirks in-between.

He did very well in the playoffs when we needed him. That performance in the playoffs is already worth the cheap deal.

We don't win back to back WS without Roki

Nah, Roki gets a pass. There is no '25 WS win without him. He is definitely inconsistent and I wouldn't be surprised if he's still battling the same shoulder impingement he was dealing with last season and even prior to that when he was in Japan.

Calling him a bust is obviously ridiculous but saying he should’ve started the year in OKC is a valid opinion. There’s no shame or admittance of failure in playing in AAA he’s a top prospect, prospects develop in the minors.

That being said, I have no idea why he’s starting in the majors this year. He should absolutely be down in AAA to start the year imo.

The criticism is valid IMO. The hype about him coming into the league was insane. There’s no issues with him being a long term project and there are clear issues he has to work on. The criticism is in response to the hype that he had coming over from Japan.

If Roki was a non-Japanese player, he would have been sent to the minors mid pre-season for his continued lack of accuracy. Roki is a cash cow to the owner. Japan wants to see Roki out there and will spend money to see him out there. Roki being in the lineup is a business decision.

exactly. if it was any other young pitcher with a 15+ ERA in spring training, there would be no discussion... send them in AAA for improvement.

LOL what? The criticism he gets is 100% absolutely deserved. No one’s saying he’s a bad person or criticizing him. They’re criticizing his performance and ability.

Roki was the #1 prospect in baseball, the odds-on favorite for rookie of the year. He has literally been one of the worst starters in baseball by multiple metrics. He is not "struggling" or "underperforming", he has been complete horseshit. But so far? Gigantic bust.

People calling him Japanese Skenes did him a disservice

The story on Roki was that he was going to make an impact in year one, not that he was going to suck ass except for about a week and a half stretch in October. He was the third head of the samurai trio. So far little bro doesn’t have the bicep strength to pick up a sword let alone be a samurai.

There were genuinely people calling Roki the best pitcher in the world during the 23 WBC. Keep in mind, Yamamoto was in the wbc too, and wasn’t getting nearly the glaze Roki was.

It’s literally why he came early because he knew he needed coaching to achieve the next level and he thought he would find it in the mlb.

With Roki, it always feels like one step forward, two steps back. They fixed his mechanics, he looked fine for a few games, and then he regressed right back to having no command.

He’s having issues getting used to throwing that Sinker and I feel that’s messing with his mechanics a bit. I feel it’s ok if he spends time in the minors to develop.

Saw someone say the dodgers should just go back to letting him pitch how he did when he was 20 in Japan. Don’t agree with that at all. You can’t really live like that long term as a starter in MLB.

Dude grew up throwing one ball and now he has to learn how to throw with a new ball. It takes time. Obviously, he can pitch consistently for a couple innings as a reliever but starting pitching is a different beast.

That oblique injury in 2023 really messed him up. Getting rocked in the regular season doesn’t build confidence either they should give him all season to build back up in AAA

I honestly think hes injured like those rumors were saying last year

I can remember when Clayton Kershaw first came up. He walked 4-5 batters per game as his location was lacking. How did things turn out for him?

Between Roki, HSK starting in AAA, and the Panda Plate going up to $7, I really think all signs point to the fact that some Dodger fans just need to find anything to complain about.

Exactly. Criticism and bullying are different. Obviously don’t send death threats to the kid, but I feel like some criticism is more than valid.

Dodger fans infantilize the Asian players so much, it’s embarrassing. Roki is just a poor baby who needs to be protected when he gets shelled, but any other pitcher would have the fanbase at their throat.

I’m not so much worried about if he struggles in April and May. But there’s value in him figuring it out now and getting better as the season progresses so he can be at his best when the games actually matter in October.